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Nouzilly, March 21, 2019 - Igyxos, a biotechnology company specialized in the development of a new treatment for female and male infertility, announced today the success of its €7.5 million fund-raising campaign as part of a Series A funding led by Bpifrance, via the Health Biotechnology Acceleration Fund managed by Bpifrance as part of the Future Investment Program, alongside with Go Capital Amorçage II and Loire Valley Invest Funds managed by Go Capital and the Emergence Innovation II Fund managed by Sofimac Innovation. This fundraising will allow Igyxos to finance the development of its drug candidate to the point of proof of concept in human clinical trials.
Igyxos is developing a "First-In-Class" treatment, based on the application of monoclonal antibodies, to treat female and male infertility.
Infertility affects about 70 million women and 30 million men worldwide and is, in many cases, related to hormonal disorders. These hormones responsible for regulating the reproductive cycle are called gonadotropins. They are produced naturally by the hypophysis ( referred to as endogenous gonadotropins), both in women, where they control the maturation of oocytes and the induction of ovulation, and in men, where they regulate spermatogenesis.
In the event of a dysfunction in the natural reproductive cycle, these gonadotropins can then be administered exogenously as a drug to treat infertility. They have been the standard treatment since the 1960s, when PMA (ovulation stimulation with or without insemination) began.
Current infertility management remains unsatisfactory with still low success rates (only 50% of treated couples have a child after 4 cycles of hormonal treatments on average), medical treatment protocols with gonadotropins considered heavy and costly (several injections per week for up to 2 years in men) and finally low compliance (30% of patients stop during treatment).
By developing a monoclonal antibody that potentiates the bioactivity of endogenous and exogenous gonadotropins, Igyxos aims to significantly improve the therapeutic management of men and women suffering from infertility.
Pierre-Henry Longeray, who joins the Company as CEO, said: "I am pleased to join the Igyxos project and to be able to support its development in a market that I know well, estimated at over €4 billion. It is a dynamic market, particularly with the acceleration of the development of certain countries such as China, the development of specialized clinics but also the increase in the average age of reproduction. »
Marie-Christine Maurel, founder and CSO of Igyxos says: "This €7.5 million fundraising combined with the arrival of Pierre-Henry Longeray, and the support and expertise of Professor René Frydman who has been with us from the beginning, is a real hope that the treatment developed by Igyxos will successfully reach the market. We would also like to thank our historical investors Centre Capital Développement, Sofimac Régions and APICAP, as well as BPI Région Centre and Région Centre Val de Loire, who have accompanied and financially supported our project since its inception. »
"We are very excited to support the Igyxos team in the development of its innovative drug in the field of infertility. Indeed, apart from the arrival of recombinant forms, hormone replacement treatments have seen very little innovation since the 1960s and have shown their limitations in a significant number of patients," say Benoit Barteau of Bpifrance, Hervé Bachelot Lallier of Go Capital and Jean-Briac Lesné of Sofimac Innovation, before adding "The drug candidate developed by Igyxos has the potential to dramatically increase the birth rate in couples treated for infertility. »
Advisors on the operation:
Igyxos' legal counsel: Chammas & Marcheteau
Igyxos Financial Consulting: Oaklins France
Legal advisor to investors: Gide Loyrette Nouel
About Igyxos
Igyxos' mission is to develop new and innovative medical and pharmaceutical technologies in the field of human fertility.
Igyxos is involved in all phases of development, from the discovery of promising targets to the identification of potential active compounds such as small molecules and antibodies. www.igyxos.com
About Bpifrance: www.bpifrance.fr – presse.bpifrance.fr
Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses – at every stage of their development – through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extra-financial services (training, consultancy…). to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export…).
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